Soon, your altoids will blossom

Man, sometimes things just seem to drop outta the sky and fall into your lap like they were they were dismissed on some kinda cosmic mission of which the timing couldn’t be more exquisite. Definitely some strange forces at play here in this little space we call the universe.

A while back, I wrote a little ditty that centered on being a single dad and watching your little girl start to grow in to a woman. If memory serves, I believe I related about how uncomfortable the whole situation was for me. I don’t know, it was just one of those instances where the paper pulled at the pen and the words just sorta stumbled out. All in all, it was pretty well received and I got many messages of both support and advice that I found comforting and invaluable. Up to now though, I’d pretty much forgotten about the whole thing.

This last Friday was not what you would call a good day in the world according to borgo. The annual review pretty much sucked, the raise was a mere pittance and the annual bonus, well, it didn’t amount to much. To top it off, the wee one had fallen victim to a serial downvoter. I think that’s what upset me the most.

Me being me, I couldn’t take this sort of thing lying down. This was a time for action dammit! Even though I was in a rather bitter mood as I made my way home, my car came to my rescue and went on something akin to auto pilot.It wasn’t long before I found myself safely ensconced in the company of regulars and the end of the bar.

Beers flowed freely but didn’t seem to be able to put a dent on my somber mood. A couple of belts of bourbon did nothing more than to leave me with an even sourer taste in my mouth than was already there. It was time to go home and put this puppy to bed.

I don’t know what made me do it. What forces at play inside my head made me reach for the mailbox to see what lay inside? I was pretty looped as it was and whatever was there had the distinct possibility of being tossed in the trash without even a second glance.

What’s this? A postcard? Hmmm?

I wish I could describe it in the detail it deserves. For there, staring back at my drunken eyes, was what had to be the plainest girl I had ever seen in my life. Judging by her attire and her glasses, (Oh God!, those glasses) it must have been taken somewhere in the late 60’s or early 70’s. er blond hair was parted off to the side and she wore a plain white sweater. The expression on her face, if you could call it that, bordered on non-existent. It looked like an 8th grade graduation photo that had somehow jumped off the pages of a yearbook and deposited itself in my mailbox.

I turned the card over and there drawn in what looks like crayon or colored pencil were two pictures. The first one was of a black candle with a glowing yellow flame. The second was in bright red and was a beating heart replete with veins and an aorta and stuff. .Not one of those Valentine’s shaped hearts either but a pretty good depiction of the one that lives in all of us. Underneath were these hand printed words.

CELEBRATE THE HEART DAILY

It’s funny how things can turn on dime. I must have picked up that card and looked it over at least 15 or 20 times before I could stop laughing. It will hold a special place on my mantel for a long, long time to come.

I got to thinking that when, at the end of the day, you add it all up and balance the books, the good people out number the bad.